As a new feature to this blog, there will be some content written by people other than myself, Drake Tungsten. It is an effort to bring different views to America Least, and it might just allow me to take a vacation and entrust the place to other people, should that arise. I'm totally thinking selfishly here. But in all seriousness, there will be some features done by others with a wide range of style and approach that will hopefully keep people interested and conversing about the topics discussed.
Our first feature comes from one Tom Laredo, a Binghamton enthusiast who will share prospective in what hopefully becomes a regularly occurring column.
Questionable Questions
Written by Tom Laredo
As Kyle Whelliston discussed in the interview on this blog, there is no more questionable term than the term "questionable" when it is used to describe a recruit. What exactly makes someone questionable? Certainly former Bearcat recruit Miladin Kovacevic wasn't a questionable recruit. He was flat out awful. Short of that, this is a nebulous label used all too frequently to describe young people whose primary problem seems to be a lack of guidance. Given its lack of specificity it's a label that's impossible to counter. One can sense Kevin Broadus's frustration when he tries to defend his players against such a meaningless charge.
While much attention is being paid to the minor transgressions of Tiki Mayben and Theo Davis, a team in Washington headed by someone all too familiar with the term "academic probation," added a former point guard from Alaska named Sarah Palin.
Palin's college record includes five different colleges in six years including a Junior College and one school twice. While voters palpably question her vice-presidential qualifications, rarely do questions of her five college tour arise. Like Theo, she is a former pot smoker. They are in good company. Presidents, senators and Nobel Prize winners have admitted to smoking pot without repercussion. Of course Palin seems to have been exonerated in the minds of most conservatives because she claims that she did not like it, as if liking it is the real problem.
Whelliston actually hits on the real problem in college sports, the exploitation of young athletes. I am frequently reminded of the story of Kevin Ross of Creighton University. Anyone who is a fan of college basketball should know this story and feel pretty good about recruiting in the America East Conference, even Albany fans.
Kevin Ross is currently a janitor in a Kansas City Junior High School. In 1978 he was a highly recruited 6' 9" center. He enrolled at Creighton University, a Jesuit school in Nebraska. He left after four years just has he had entered, a functional illiterate. He was 36 credits short of graduation but was estimated to have the language skills of a fourth grader.
His courses at Creighton included Theory of Basketball and Marksmanship. A secretary did his homework, and his tests were handed to him with the answers already filled in. When his eligibility ended, so did the special treatment.
Kevin went back to elementary school after four years of college to get the help he needed. His story was covered on 60 Minutes and had a profound influence on many young athletes, myself included. His courage at attending class with children and learning to read was widely acknowledged and celebrated. I can still remember chuckling at pictures of Kevin in his cap and gown towering over all the other graduates, like Kramer from Seinfeld in karate class.
(Link to Ross Story on ESPN's Outside the Lines HERE)
Unfortunately Kevin's story of courage does not end well. One morning in July, 1987 Kevin barricaded himself in a Chicago hotel room and proceeded to empty the contents of the room onto the crowded street below. He was finally subdued by twelve police officers, taken to the hospital and treated for depression and alcohol abuse.
To understand how this type of educational environment is created, I know of no better book than Personal Fouls by Peter Golenback which describes the abusive practices of Jim Valvano at NC State. Of course Jim Valvano is primarily remembered as the coach of the 1983 NCAA Champions, the "Cardiac Kids" not his abuses. A subsequent investigation concluded that Valvano had violated the "spirit but not the letter of the law." In 1993, shortly before his death, Valvano received the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian award. I would give ten years of my life to be with Will Brown on the day that Kevin Broadus wins an award for being a great humanitarian. The lesson of Jim Valvano for other coaches is obvious: win and everything else will take care of itself. This is why we spend too much time questioning recruits and too little time questioning programs.
It's hard to imagine Binghamton allowing such an environment to develop. It wasn't that long ago that players outnumbered fans at basketball games. Binghamton was not only a DIII team, it was a terrible DIII team and everyone seemed to be okay with that. The benefits of a winning program with respect to alumni donations and increased applications have given Thirer and Broadus some leverage, but it's not limitless. Binghamton values its academic reputation above everything else. Otherwise we're just Albany with much better uniforms (no hate mail Danes, just kidding...........about the uniforms).
So I want to wish Tiki, Theo and all of the America East recruiting classes the best of luck next year both on and off the court. Yes, even Albany.
Tom Laredo is a Binghamton alum, avid Bearcat fan and contributor to America Least. He hates Albany and its fans with a passion except one: his wife.
If you are interested in contributing an editorial or column to America Least, contact Drake at america.least@gmail.com.
Original Story:
http://americaleast.blogspot.com/2008...
